DFAN/OneStep
Online Diabetes Newsletter - September 1999

Hi all! Fall is in the air and it's time to get back
to school! This month's issue of our newsletter
contains articles about diabetes "old timers",
diabetes isolations, a recipe for your taste buds,
and some new information about our DFAN
websites.

I have a new printer now so if you'd like to send
out any of our free Diabetes Greeting cards please
let me know. We have cards for kids with diabetes,
as well as cards for adults with diabetes and those who
have helped with a diabetes management plan.



_______ARTICLE_______
Old Timers

Being an "old timer" when it comes to having
diabetes can be a double edged sword. It might
mean that you have tons of experience and that you
are comfortable with living with diabetes in your life.
It may also mean that you've ignored the diabetes in
your life and have decided that living in denial is
better than dealing with the various diabetes tasks
that may come into play. Either way, being a diabetes
old-timer means that you always have something to
share with the newly diagnosed.

Having diabetes a long time doesn't necessarily mean
you're an expert on the disease, but it does mean that
you have encountered many of the trials that a person
with diabetes will go through. Rose, who was diagnosed
at the age of 15 says, "I have had this disease for the
majority of my life and I am grateful that I was diagnosed
at the tender age of fifteen rather than forty-five. At least
I have had a lifetime to adopt a food and exercise program
that I can live with. Even though I have been diabetic for
so long, I do not consider myself an expert; there is
ALWAYS something to learn. Of course, it would be
fantastic NOT to have this but at least I have something
that I can live with!"

One main part of managing diabetes is having a
relationship with a doctor. This might be your
family doctor, a diabetes specialist, or a changing
clinic doctor who you only see twice a year.
Interacting with your doctor is one of the best
diabetes management tools you can have, so choose
your doctor carefully. A lot of us took more time
choosing what we'd eat for dinner then we took
choosing the doctor we see regularly. Try to find a
doctor that makes you feel comfortable and who
will answer your questions.

"See your doctor frequently, and work with him to
maintain control of this disease. Try to follow a
diet that works for you. and be sure to take your
medications. Listen to your body and if something
doesn't feel right let your doctor know because only
you know what you are feeling. Don't let anyone tell
you it's all in your head," shares Catherine who was
diagnosed in 1987.

Coping with diabetes brings experiences to you that
are extremely valuable. Living with diabetes in the
family can bring so many difficulties. Being able to
talk to others about the disease and how you coped with
the way it entered your life and your relationships is an
important part of helping those who have just been
diagnosed with diabetes.

Catherine has Type 2 diabetes, "First, I would like to say
without family support it is very hard to keep this disease
under control. I have spent a lot of time in denial. Now I
suffer with neuropathy in my feet and legs due to nerve
damage caused from prolonged blood glucose levels above
200-300, and also being very obese."

A different style of family support diabetes old timers report,
occurs when the family is helpful, but allows you to "do
your own thing" without interfering. "My family (spouse)
is helpful b/c they (he) let me alone to do my diet and exercise
thing. They are not overly helpful BUT they do not stand in
my way or hinder me in any way," says Rose.

As we can see, being a diabetes old-timer means that
you have a lot to share, a lot to give and tons of
information that can help others manage the diabetes
in their life. Please share as much of yourself as you can.
Maybe you can talk to diabetic children who need to
learn the ropes about diabetes management. Or you
can participate in an online diabetes mailing list or
chatroom and discuss how you're dealt with diabetes
management tasks and trials. Always remember that
no one can take your experiences away from you.
Whether they are good diabetes memories or bad…they're
yours to share and others can learn a great deal from the
paths you've taken.



____ARTICLE_______
ISOLATED INCIDENT

Wendy decided that she didn't want to join the others
for dinner. After all, she never liked chili that much
anyway, "Sooner or later they have to realize that I'm
my own person." So, while the others enjoyed a nice
meal at the restaurant, Wendy went home alone. The
door creaked a bit as she opened it, but that didn't bother
Wendy. She was used to it. "Let's see, what should I
have for dinner tonight," Wendy thought to herself,
"Ah! A chicken dinner! That sounds good." The
meal was gone in under ten minutes. By then the
family was back home.

"Gosh sis, didn't you want to join us?" Josh asked
from the living room.

"Nope, I didn't have enough time," Wendy explained,
knowing that it wasn't really true. Wendy decided to
go up to her room. She was twenty-three years old but
still lived at home. It was a good situation for her.
Wendy lived at home, paid her parents rent and even had
her own telephone and grocery bin. She even had her own
small refrigerator full of goodies. Wendy kept her
diabetes management tasks to herself, not even letting
her family see her test her blood sugar. "Why should I?"
she'd say to herself, "it's my business." So, all in all
Wendy's diabetes was just that….HER diabetes. There
was no room in her life for any outside help or concern,
even if her family did want to help.

"Wendy!" called her Dad from the backyard, "do you
want to come down and play a little football with us?
Work a little of that dinner off?"

"Nope, Dad. I don't need football. I have some work
on my puter' that I have to get done." That wasn't really
true either. The work could wait.

This scenario isn't too uncommon. Diabetes can make
anyone want to run and hide, but isolation doesn't help.
Sure, it might give someone a safe place to overeat or not
exercise as much as they should, but the denial that can
happen can be devastating to a diabetes management plan.
Being alone can be great. It gives you time to think of new
ways to help yourself, and gives you a place to think about
aspects of your diabetes management plan that might need
deep concentration. But don't use the isolation as a place
to refuse yourself good diabetes care.

Remember, isolation is good for germs and viruses….not
for people.


_______ARTICLE_______
Recipe Of The Month

Butter Beans & Turkey (Makes 8 one cup servings)

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces smoked turkey breast
1 /4 cup chopped onion
1 pound mature lima beans (soaked overnight)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon thyme
1 /4 teaspoon salt (optional)


DIRECTIONS

Boil the turkey and the onions in 1 quart of water
for 45 minutes. Put the beans, garlic, pepper, bay
leaf and thyme in the water and cook for 1 hour (or
until the beans are tender) You may need to add
additional water so watch your pot.

Optional: Add the salt in the final 15 minutes of cooking.


NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Per Serving: 216 Calories; 36 grams Carbohydrate;
1 gram Fat; 423 mg Sodium; 18 grams Protein
Exchanges: 1 ˝ Starch; 1 Very Lean Meat

_______New Additions To Our Websites_______

There are some new additions to our websites! One of
our newest website additions is our Christian Diabetes
Living Website. This site is for Christian diabetics who
want to get diabetes information along with other discussions
and materials about Christianity. We have also been chosen
to be the opening website for QUEST, which is a new way to
study the Bible The URL for the new site is:
http://home.att.net/~belve

If you're not a Christian you can still visit our DFAN Diabetes
Homepage site, which has no religious discussion. The URL
for that site is: http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite

Our Diabetes Angel and Diabetes Weightloss site have also
been updated so stop by and see if there's anything there
that interests you. The URL for the Diabetes Angel site
is http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/angel and the URL for
our Diabetes Weightloss site is http://members.aol.com/belve/dfan

Send all questions, comments, ideas to: dmmteam@...
Belver Ladson
dfanish@... AOL IM: Belve Yahoo IM: dfanish
DFAN Diabetes Website: http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite
Got A Diabetes Story or Poem You Want To Share? Write me!
Diabetes Angels http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/resort/3146/angel

___________________________________________________________________
Get the Internet just the way you want it.
Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month!
Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.